The friendly staff at Milly’s will serve you a wide selection of fresh items, ranging from farm produce, exquisite artisanal cheeses, and premium-grade meats sourced from reputable suppliers. (Diane Penwill photo for Vacay.ca)
For many, Port Hope is a day-tripper’s destination, often to see one of the twice-yearly salmon and trout runs on the Ganaraska River. For others, it’s a drive-by sign on Ontario’s 401 highway en route to Prince Edward County, Kingston, Montreal or Toronto. For me, it has provided an easy and pretty escape from the noise, traffic and summer heat of Toronto. Anyone who spends more than a day here will discover plenty to see and do, in the town itself and in the surrounding countryside of Northumberland County.
Port Hope, which bills itself as “Ontario’s favourite small town,” sits on the shores of Lake Ontario, a little more than an hour from Toronto and two and a bit from Kingston. The town is so steeped in history, the entire downtown has been designated a heritage site. It was built in the late 1800s on both sides of the Ganaraska River, which intersects the town, creating a picturesque landscape. Port Hope was a hub for 19th-century trade and transportation. The river once powered mills and distilleries and lends the town considerable charm. Torontonians and Americans built summer estates on the lake in the 1920s and the railway brought travellers to the hotels. The Opera House entertained the locals. Today, Port Hope has one of the best-preserved main streets in Ontario, Walton Street and is home to Trinity College School, the notable Capitol Theatre, and a lively Saturday farmer’s market. The devoted community has made a huge contribution to the success of Port Hope’s preservation of its heritage.
Built in 1845, the Waddell Hotel building has had a rich history. A boutique heritage hotel in picturesque downtown Port Hope, the Waddell offers individually decorated rooms and inspired Italian cuisine. (Diane Penwill photo for Vacay.ca)
A self-guided walking tour takes you through several gorgeous, leafy neighbourhoods and past a fascinating range of building styles, fun for the architecture buff and amateur alike. The historic, often grand exteriors of the buildings on Augusta, Dorset, and King streets are completely worth the ascent up the hills. There are also a number of notable houses on Sullivan, Ridout, and Baldwin streets. View the fast-flowing Ganaraska from the bridge on Walton Street. In and around Walton Street, there are many home decor, vintage, antique, and book shops and plenty of restaurants, pubs, cafes, and gelato spots. The street has stayed true to its predominantly Victorian 19th-century architectural roots. Music plays a role in the local scene, with a jazz festival in August and regular jazz and open-mic nights at a number of pubs and restaurants. A swimmable beach and a pretty Waterfront Trail east of it are great ways to begin or end the day on foot.
The 58th Port Hope House Tour
Port Hope features a number of historic homes that are accessible during a unique tour of the town. (Diane Penwill photo for Vacay.ca)
If a guided excursion is more to your liking, these can be arranged through the tourism board. The Port Hope Heritage Foundation also conducts a tour of selected historic houses every fall. In 2024, Port Hope’s 58th House Tour takes place on October 5. It’s a wonderful opportunity to meet and chat with homeowners who take great pride in how they have transformed their heritage homes. It is sponsored by local businesses and supports the Heritage Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that works to preserve buildings of architectural merit.
This year’s tour takes place in and around the downtown and will take you through eight buildings, including the Art Deco-era Capitol Theatre, now a designated historic site, as well as the interiors of an eclectic mix of properties in historic neighbourhoods showcasing intrinsic Ontario architectural styles, including Regency Ontario Cottage, Victorian Row House, Empire, and Edwardian. Two of the local churches offer reasonably priced lunches. Vacay.ca Travel Tip: Comfortable shoes are necessary for this tour!
Last year’s tour (which required driving) took us just north of Port Hope through the beautiful pastoral countryside of Northumberland County, to hamlets such as Canton. Batterwood House, which has been on the tour in the past, was the former home of Vincent Massey, Canada’s first Canadian-born governor general, who had important connections with Canton.
Get to Know a Pioneering Ontario Theatre
The Capitol Theatre, which opened in 1930 at the beginning of the Great Depression, was one of Canada’s first movie theatres and is one of the last fully restored “atmospheric” movie houses still in operation in Canada. An atmospheric theatre is a type of movie house design that was popular in the 1920s. The main auditorium features murals depicting a Norman Courtyard and moving clouds projected onto a blue ceiling to create the feeling of being outdoors. The Capitol is exceptionally well-preserved with much of its Art Deco exterior and interior detail remaining intact after more than 90 years of almost continuous operation.
The Capitol was also one of the first cinemas in the country to be built expressly for talking pictures. The theatre opened with the musical comedy “Queen High” starring Charlie Ruggles and Ginger Rogers in her first feature musical film. After it closed in 1987, a group of local citizens restored it to its former glory in the 1990s. The theatre was designated a national heritage site in 2016.
Recent productions have included the long-running “Kim’s Convenience” and the off-broadway musical “Little Shop of Horrors”. Novelist Stephen King visited Port Hope in 2016 when his “It” movies were filmed here and shown at the theatre for a release party. Quite a few scenes from “It” were shot in the municipality’s Memorial Park. There’s even an “It” tour that goes through all the film locations.
Celebrate Farley Mowat in Port Hope
The Farley Mowat boat-roofed house is a tribute to the famed Canadian author. The monument was recreated by stone wall and bridge builder John Shaw-Rimmington from the pages of Mowat’s book “The Farfarers: Before the Norse”. (Diane Penwill photo for Vacay.ca)
The prolific Canadian writer and environmentalist, Farley Mowat, played an important part in the history of Port Hope and the Farley Mowat boat-roofed house is a famous landmark in the town. The house is also a good starting point for the tour. Situated on the river in Ganaraska Park, the 24-foot overturned walrus-skin boat was constructed using 38 tons of limestone, so my guess is the structure is here to stay. Mowat, who died in 2014 at the age of 92, was one of Canada’s most widely read authors. His 42 books have been translated into 26 languages and have sold more than 17 million copies. Mowat was born in nearby Belleville, but spent the latter years of his life in Port Hope with his wife. I wandered into Furby Books on Walton Street and picked up a copy of Mowat’s “Gorillas in the Mist”, based on the film with Sigourney Weaver. I read it on a recent trip to Mexico and his clear, engaging style had me hooked in minutes.
Home of the Great Farini, Human Cannon Ball
The Great Farini walked on a tightrope across the Ganaraska River in 1859. It was the first of many acrobatic performances he would go on to entertain crowds around the world, including with his human cannon-ball act. The Farini Garden, located near the intersection of Walton and Mill streets, on the Ganaraska River, was named to honour William Hunt — aka the Great Farini. He spoke seven languages and is credited with popularizing the lost city of the Kalahari in 1885, as he was one of the first Westerners to cross the unexplored portion of the Kalahari Desert. He retired to Port Hope to paint, died in 1929 at the age of 90, and is buried in Union Cemetery.
Overcoming Floods and Fire
Port Hope has a history of fires dating to the 1800s and in 1980 suffered a fire and a flood in the same year, which destroyed a number of its buildings, The flood of 1980 destroyed the Old Fire Hall along with a row of buildings next to the Waddell Hotel. The flood was followed by a fire two months later that destroyed the newly renovated block. Due to the efforts of the community, many of the buildings were rebuilt and restored, with the unfortunate exception of the fire hall. The Public Library, along with the Capitol Theatre, are two of the few historic public buildings in the town to never have been gutted by fire. In spite of the natural disasters, Port Hope has an architectural legacy quickly apparent with even a quick tour.
The Town Hall is the most recognizable building in Port Hope, as it’s visible from almost every vantage point as you drive into and around the town and it is a key part of the Queen Streetscape. Located just south of the downtown core, it is surrounded by lawns and gardens. In 1893, the Town Hall was gutted by a fire, which left only the walls standing. Within a year, the building was reconstructed and reoccupied by the town council. While much of the original building was lost, the exterior reconstruction was completed in a similar style.
Visit the Historic Hotel Carlyle
Located in the heart of downtown, Hotel Carlyle has a rich and somewhat unusual history. Originally built in 1857 as a branch of the Bank of Upper Canada, the beautifully restored building has also been a lively pub, a dairy, a surgeon’s residence, and also his operating room. The spacious bank vault is now a private room in the restaurant for group entertaining.
The 10-room hotel, with wonderful views of the town and the pretty St. John’s Anglican church across the street, is within easy walking distance of Walton Street. I was given a tour of the hotel by Elise Herman, one of the owners and was impressed by its tasteful, yet whimsical decor. No one of its 10 rooms are alike. Cow photos and cowhide rugs abound, an homage to the original dairy. Exposed brick walls, fireplaces, and contemporary furnishings and fixtures create an industrial-chic vibe that works well with the 19th-century architecture.
The Carlyle Inn’s restaurant menu, wine and cocktail list has been thoughtfully curated by a local chef, using locally sourced ingredients, offering up a range of dishes from burgers to beef tenderloin. The restaurant has a beautiful oak bar, banquet-style seating with stylish decor and cool chandeliers, with an attractive covered patio on a quiet side street.
Stay at the Waddell Hotel
Try to book a room with a private terrace overlooking the river if you can. The beautifully restored Waddell, which sits on the banks of the Ganaraska, was designed and built by Toronto architect William Thomas in 1845. Thomas designed more than 100 landmark buildings in Canada, many of which are still standing (including St. Michael’s Cathedral and St. Lawrence Hall in Toronto, as well as the Commercial Bank on Wellington Street, the face of which is preserved in the atrium of BCE Place in Toronto). The Waddell Hotel, like the Carlyle, was originally designed as a bank, with two retail spaces and a hotel on the upper floors. Several of the large, elegant rooms in the hotel have fireplaces and private terraces overlooking the river. The Trattoria Gusto restaurant, bar and patio, located in the hotel, has wonderful views of the river.
Savour the Beamish House Pub
The dining experience at Beamish Pub features simple and genuine food with an extensive selection of pints on tap. (Diane Penwill photo for Vacay.ca)
Have a few pints and a burger on the generous patio of the Beamish House or watch the game at the oak bar inside. An English-style pub, it has become a local watering hole and is also popular with tourists. Originally known as the Cochrane House, it has music on the patio most Sunday nights. The two-and-a-half story frame building, which over the years has been a warehouse, a dairy, an auto dealership, an appliance store, a pet food store, and an antique shop, is an early example of the Greek revival style so common in Port Hope. The entire building was actually moved twice, once in 1876 and again to its current spot in 1985. It was designated an historic building under the Ontario Heritage Act in 1986.
Get Comfortable in “The Ganny”
Play euchre, pool, or darts with the regulars at “The Ganny”. Built in 1837, the Ganaraska Hotel was first granted a liquor license by the police chief in the 1850s and is now a popular old-style tavern. It has a large patio in the back with regular music nights and an Open Mic Jam night on Wednesdays with local musicians.
Tour Wesleyville and Lakeshore Road
Last but not least, the scenic Lakeshore Road which runs from Port Hope west towards Toronto through a historic area called Wesleyville reveals another layer of Port Hope’s roots. The road was once the path of the Indigenous people (Massassauga Nation) who walked along Lake Ontario to gather and harvest fish. By 1800, the trail became known as the King’s Road. In 1801, the crown granted 300 acres of land to the Indigenous and a neighbourhood formed. By the 1860s, Wesleyville was thriving with homes and farmsteads. There was a church, school, post-office, blacksmith’s shop, tavern, cobbler, carpenter, and machine shop. The church and school were closed in the late 1960s because of Ontario Hydro’s acquisition of property. The Wesleyville United Church and its cemetery were not included in the acquisition. The church, built in 1860, was destroyed in a fire in 2010 and has been under restoration by local volunteers. The 19th-century village of Wesleyville, which includes a caretaker’s cottage (with a live-in caretaker) and a schoolhouse, is also under restoration, with the efforts of the Port Hope and area community.
MORE ABOUT VISITING PORT HOPE
How to Spend a Day: Stroll to the beach to relax at day’s end and swim in the clear waters of Lake Ontario. Grab a burger after your swim at the Sunnyside Diner or Olympus Burger, which are both within walking distance of the beach. Back in town, have a glass of wine at The Waddell, a beer at the Ganaraska Brewery, a cappuccino at Millies, or a meal at one of the many restaurants. Shop for vintage furniture at Dwellissimo, a gift or hand-crafted item at Bibelot or Penney & Co., browse in Furby Books, or find something for your home at Atelier on John.
Farmer’s Market: Try local baked goods, hot perogies, and fresh-from-the-farm produce like wildflower honey or peas from the pod at Port Hope’s lively Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings. You can also shop for handicrafts by local artisans.
Laveanne Lavender Farm: Surround yourself in the glorious scent of lavender and relax on one of the wrought-iron benches dotting the Laveanne lavender fields. Try your luck in the labyrinth and leave with a dried bouquet or one of the many scented products in the gift shop. Open April to August.
The Barn Quilt Trail: Attention photographers — go on a country tour and try to locate the barn quilts (with a downloadable map). The Barn Quilt Trail honours the history of Port Hope’s barns for their architectural significance and economic contribution to the economy. I enjoyed driving through the rolling hills of Northumberland County to find the quilts painted on the sides of participating barns.
Dancing Bee Farm and Observatory: Meet the honeybees and talk to an expert beekeeper at Dancing Bee. Try a honey tasting and learn more about bee farming and the huge importance of bees for the environment and food production.
Haute Goat Farm: You don’t have to be a kid to enjoy Haute Goat Farm, a beautiful animal farm on 200 acres, where you can not only pet cute baby goats, but see adult Nigerian Dwarf Goats, Huacaya Alpacas, exotic chickens, Kune Kune pigs, Icelandic horses, and more.
The Ganaraska Forest: Just a half hour north of Port Hope, the Ganaraska Forest offers hundreds of kilometres of trails for year-round fun. Hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and nature appreciation are popular activities throughout the forest.
Tourism Info: Visit Port Hope’s website has additional trip-planning info.
